Deadline: July 19, 2026
Applications are open for the EJN Story Grants to Report on Asia’s Endangered Apes 2026. As part of EJN’s Empowering Media for the Conservation of Apes in Africa and Asia, they will award up to 10 story grants to journalists in Asian range countries seeking to report on the threats faced by apes (in the wild and in captivity), and the conservation solutions that must be scaled to safeguard animal, human and environmental health in the years to come. This project is supported by the Arcus Foundation.
They welcome story ideas that focus on the following themes, including, but not limited to:
- The threats to both wild and captive apes, with particular focus on industrial and agricultural development, fragmented forest, illegal trade and poaching;
- Participatory and science-based conservation efforts and other tried-and-tested solutions to safeguard ape health and welfare;
- National and international laws, policies and treaties related to ape conservation—and the challenges in implementing them;
- The role of protected areas, national parks and other reserves in mitigating risks to ape health wellbeing and preserving ecosystems;
- Zoonotic spillover and One Health at the human-ape interface, i.e. stories that connect the dots between human health, animal health and environmental health.
Grants
- They expect to award up to 10 grants with budgets of up to US$1,500 each.
Eligibility
- Applicants must be from one of the following nine gibbon- and/or orangutan-range countries in Asia: Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
- Preference will be given to those who completed the workshop.
- For the purposes of this opportunity, they will only be accepting applications in English. Unfortunately, they do not have the capacity to consider applications in other languages at this time.
- Groups of journalists are encouraged to apply. However, the application must be made in the name of one lead applicant. Lead applicants are responsible for communicating with EJN and receiving funds on the group’s behalf, if awarded.
- Applications are open to journalists working in any medium (online, print, television, radio) and other media practitioners with experience covering conservation issues.
- They welcome applications from early-career journalists and experienced reporters with a track record of covering conservation issues. Applications from freelance reporters and staff from all types of media organizations—international, national, local and community-based are eligible. They especially encourage women, rural and/or Indigenous and early-career journalists to apply.
- They welcome applications from freelance reporters and staff from all types of media organizations—community-based, local national and international. The grant can fund travel costs, reporter stipends, multimedia elements and more. Besides funding, grantees will receive 1-1 editorial mentorship from an experienced journalist and training on how to repackage their reporting for social media to reach a wider audience.
- Applicants are required to be transparent about the use of generative AI tools, if any, to revise their proposals. EJN reserves the right to disqualify applicants from consideration if they have been found to have engaged in unethical or improper professional conduct, including, but not limited to, submitting AI-generated content as their own.
Note: For the purposes of this grant opportunity, they are unable to accept letters of support from Mongabay because they are already a beneficiary of the Arcus Foundation, who is also supporting this program. Applicants are encouraged to seek support from other media outlets (international, national, local and community-based) in any medium (online, print, television, radio).
Application
For more information, visit EJN Story Grants.
